Reviewed by Johnny McNair

 

Weinstein Company– 82 mins – 2008 – Unrated – 1080p Widescreen 1.78: 1 – DTS-HD Lossless Master 5.1 Audio

 

 

  

With all the comic book based movies out there, somebody was obviously gearing up to make a spoof of all of them. There is tons of source material and in the right hands it could have been a very funny project. Unfortunately, the end result of the parody Superhero Movie is just the opposite. If you’re desperate for a giggle and you have 82 minutes to waste, Superhero Movie comes to Blu-ray via the Weinstein Company.

 

THE MOVIE

 

Spiderman seems to be the main target of Superhero Movie, where a teenager in the molding of Peter Parker named Rick Riker (Drake Bell), is bitten by a genetically altered dragonfly and begins to develop superhuman abilities. Hoping to win the heart of his dreamgirl Jill (Sara Paxton), he tries to use his new talents to get some cash, but when his uncle is shot by a bank robber, Rick is contacted by Professor Xavier (Tracey Morgan) and taken to his school for the gifted where he learns that he has his powers for a reason and must use them to help society and hopefully get laid.

 

Rick makes himself a costume and becomes the Dragonfly, where he interacts with parody versions of such comic book legends as Mr. Fantastic, The Invisible Girl, Storm, and Wolverine. All heroes need a villain and in this case it’s a madman business tycoon named The Hourglass (Christopher McDonald), who looks like he’s wearing a rejected Robocop costume.

 

Directed by Craig Mazin and produced by David Zucker, the man behind the Airplane and Naked Gun movies, Superhero Movie is one of those movies like Meet The Spartans, where all the best moments are stuck in the two minute trailer, and then we you sit through the movie, you’re waiting for something funny to happen, but all you get is one cliché after another (yes, fart jokes). The end results is a movie that looks like a fan film you can catch on You Tube, but here you’ve been suckered into paying for it.

 

VIDEO

 

Presented in 1080p in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio, Superhero Movie decent with a sharp image and bright colors, but it’s just slightly above what you’ll get from a standard DVD. Grain is heavy in places, and some spots seem fuzzy, but overall it’s an acceptable image for what it is.

 

AUDIO

 

Superhero Movie’s DTS HD 5.1 mix is good, allowing you to hear the dialogue clearly, and the sound effects are balanced well. But basically that’s all there is to the mix, because no bells and whistles have been thrown in.

 

EXTRAS

 

This Blu-ray comes with both the theatrical and extended version, but either way you’re still watching an unfunny movie.

 

Writer/Director Craig Mazin and Producers David Zucker and Robert K. Weiss do what they can to explain this mess in the audio commentary.

 

An alternate ending that takes place at a comic convention was scrapped for obvious reasons…it’s just not funny.

 

Eleven minutes of deleted scenes will go by so fast you won’t remember any of them.

 

Meet the Cast is exactly what is sounds like, a bunch of no names and hacks attempting to be witty and faking that they’re apart of a good movie.

 

The Art of Spoofing talk about what it takes to make a good film parody. Obviously they didn’t take their own advice.

 

The theatrical trailer, as well as some BD Live support is also included, but it’s not even worth logging in.

 

BOTTOM LINE

 

These unfunny spoof movies have to stop. Where is Mel Brooks and why can’t he save us from this. Superhero Movie is no more than a Blu-ray rental, and that’s being generous.

 

SCORES (out of 5):

 

The Movie: 2.0

Video: 3.0

Sound: 3.0

Extras: 2.5

Bottom Line: 2.5